Purely Elemental
by ayatia
Summary: Rachel Barry was an ordinary girl traveling to LA to see her aunt's wedding. But when her bus gets trapped in the FAYZ, she must quickly adapt to the new circumstances and her new powers. Rated T for safety. Set after Gone.
1. Flashback

**A/N: Review please! Love it, hate it, really couldn't care less... tell me! Set after Gone, although this chapter is just a series of flashbacks, so that you can understand what's happened without having to reread Gone with my additions. ;) **

**BTW: Rated T to be safe. Pretty bad language and some mature content, though, so... if that bothers you, don't read. Kthxbai**

_Prologue_

14 Days Before

"Wait, _what?"_ I turn to my mother. "Really?"

"Yes," she says smugly. "I didn't think we'd be able to get the tickets in time, but it turns out your grandmother already had some for the entire family."

"So," I say dubiously, "she just happens to have tickets for our family plus forty-odd cousins to come with us to California!"

"Well, you know how upset she was when Jenny left. She just wants everyone to be able to come to the wedding, that's all. Anyway, when someone else offers me a two-week free vacation to go to the other side of the country? Well, I'm not complaining."

7 Days Before

We have decided to tour around California before going up to my aunt's LA high-rise. She ran off with some guy she met at a bar in Boston, which was badverybad, and we all got lectured on the Importance Of Listening To Your Parents, and how Relationships Need Time To Grow, and all that crap. Whatever. I was like, three. All I wanted was a freaking cookie.

Anyway, we've rented a few tour buses to hold me and my forty-odd cousins and all those grandparents and relatives-twice-removed-all those people who say they haven't seen you since you were three and kiss your cheek and meanwhile you're thinking you haven't seen them _ever, _and you wonder how you could possibly be related to such freaks.

It is hot, and I am bored. I stuff my earbuds in my ears, turn on my iPod, and forget the world.

1 Day Before

Thank God, our touring is almost over. My sister is upset she hasn't seen any Disney stars yet. I am thankful for that very same reason.

We will be driving up the coast tomorrow, through a few beach towns and some desert. I briefly wonder when we're going to get there, and then become more preoccupied with my English essay, which is due when I come back.

But really, who the hell cares about the deterioration of morals in _Lord of the Flies, _anyway?

6 Hours Before

I sit with my two miscreant sisters, Taylor and Gabriella, who have been running up and down the bus like idiots. Since I am the Grown And Responsible Sister, I must watch over them. They're pretty much useless, considering they can't tell me the deterioration of morals in _Lord of the Flies _and the essay is not writing itself.

My stomach begins to feel queasy, and my palms feel hot. I excuse myself and slide to the dingy box of a bathroom at the back. My hands burn, and I feel as if I will throw up. As I yank open the door, the metal hisses. I quickly let cold water run over my hands.

They are glowing red.

As I watch, steam evaporates from the sink. I wish the water would become colder or move faster or _something_, just to make my hands stop burning.

I do not pay attention as I leave the bathroom. It is only later that anyone notices the pipes have burst. The bus driver says the water pressure was too high.

Thoughts whirl around my head like little bees, a hum of you-did-this, could-it-be, it's-your-fault. I push them out of my head and turn toward my sisters.

"Taylor! Gabriella! _Sit down_!"

But the thoughts still flit around my head, even after we get back on the bus and continue driving.

1 Hour Before

"Alex, for the millionth time, will you get your stupid AP books away from me!" I say, annoyed, as yet another AP Biology book falls on me.

"Sorry, sorry," he says, quickly grabbing the book. "Accident."

I don't feel good. My stomach feels even worse, and my palms continue to burn. The wind is raising up terrific dust storms, my essay is still blank, and now, to top it all off, my overachiever science nerd of a cousin is dropping all of his textbooks on me. He, of course, is AP everything. It's not like I'm dumb, but I definitely wouldn't be able to understand that stuff if I tried.

All this thinking is making my head hurt. I really hope we get there soon, because my family is driving me batshit crazy.

5 Minutes Before

I am seeing stars

Stars stars pretty pretty stars

"Rachel, Rachel, Rachel!" my little demon of a sister choruses.

"Shut up," I mumble, barely able to move. My skin is burning up-

Stars pretty stars

-I just want it to stop. But it doesn't.

We are approaching the lovely coastal town of Perdido Beach. The waves roll across the sand, and it feels as if they are chasing our bus.

Stars

Taylor and Gabriella run up and down the length of the bus, eliciting shouts from my mother, who tells them to leave me alone, that I'm sick. As it is I am all alone at the front of the bus, except for my mother, who is giving me water to drink, as if it will help.

Stars stars stars, oh I wish this migraine would go away

They run back, to the back of the bus, and my mother follows them. Almost in slow motion, I watch as, all of a sudden, they're there.

And then, they're not.

Every single adult disappears. Alex disappears. Every aunt and uncle and godparent.

So does the bus driver.

Without thinking, I reach over and slam on the brakes. Then I turn around. All stomach queasiness forgotten, I look around, trying to see if my sisters are safe.

Instead I see a white barrier, slightly opaque but not clear enough to see anything through.

I walk over and touch it. It burns my hand and hurts like all hell. I try throwing an AP Chem book at it, a reminder of my cousin. It bounces back.

I turn the book over in my hands. Just a minute ago, my living, breathing cousin was looking through this book. I examine it. It's flipped over to the page explaining nuclear fission.

Possessed with a strange sense of calm, I gather my iPod, a jacket, a water bottle, and a backpack, and then, for some reason, take the keys to the bus and the three science books. I search around for something to eat, but there is nothing.

I walk outside. The barrier stretches as high and far as I can see. But I don't care anymore what's behind it. My strange sense of calm guides me away, toward a giant hotel.

With a detached sense of relief, I notice that my body has finally stopped burning.

It has been three days since The Incident. I found food at the hotel, more water, a place to sleep. But there is something wrong.

There have been fires in the town, children constantly congregating at the central square. No adults, though. Never anyone, as far as I can tell, above fourteen or fifteen.

The strangest thing, though, has been the power.

The first day, I accidentally burst another set of taps trying to refill my water bottle. All I could feel was a strange rush of power through my hands. Later, I accidentally set some curtains on fire. One second I was angry, wondering what had happened to my family, the next liquid fire was streaming from my hands.

From there I became curious. I would go outside, experiment, look around. Soon I found I could control the winds, make them start and stop, and to my surprise, one day I made a flower sprout from the ground.

It was in the middle of the second day that I figured it out. I didn't know why, or how, but I was controlling the elements. Not the scientific elements, like hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, but the ancient elements-air, fire, water, earth.

I was consumed for a thirst for learning, for power that I hadn't previously known. With nothing else to do, I spent all day experimenting. It took a very long time to gain control, not to mention a lot of burned or flooded rooms, but finally, on the third day, I made a faucet run just by looking at it.

At first it was exhausting. But now I am better. I can make the wind lift things for me, I can light things on fire with just a glance, I can make grass grow and waves move in my direction.

That was the exciting part.

But there have also been people, who came in the first day and searched around. I didn't know them, and I was scared of them. But I listened to their conversations, and I learned.

Today is the third day. Today I scout the town.

I my regular people-watching, as I do every day, just in time to see a group of people disappear into the church. There are unfamiliar faces all around, faces I don't know. The children of the town have seen me but don't know me, and leave me alone, for the most part. Mostly I have been following the leaders around, Sam and that girl Astrid, and her brother Little Pete.

It's a good thing, too, because they have a wealth of information-about the disappearance of the fifteen-year-olds, about the children of the town, about the barrier, about the power plant. After hearing about the plant, I visited it, on my own.

It was downright creepy, to say the least. With my newly sharpened senses toward the elements, I could feel matter clashing. The queasiness returned for a while, but eventually abated. Still, I had had the feeling that something was not right with that place, but then I left.

I creep toward the church and slip in through a side door. There's a whole group of them, the Perdido Beach kids, including Sam and Astrid, and some new people. Soon I learn they are from a school high in the hills-Coates Academy. There are only a few of them, including one dark-haired girl, Diana Ladris, who seems to insist on shaking everyone's hand. I have a feeling they have powers too, and I remind myself never to touch that girl's hands.

Then there's the strange one, Drake Merwin, who watches but does not really talk, and the leader, Caine. He's incredibly good-looking and seems to have a way with words.

I don't trust any of them. _From now on_, I tell myself, _you can flit in and out of their lives, but don't become attached to any of them_.

After a while, the beach kids leave. There's only the kids from Coates Academy left. They begin talking, something about bars and signal strength-from what I gather, they are measuring power... so that's what Diana does. Reads power. Caine is telekinetic, that much was obvious by the cross fiasco. Drake, from what I can tell, doesn't have a power.

I have not pushed the limits of my power. But I feel certain I am stronger than them.

"So, mark that girl down as-" Caine breaks off. "Hold on."

Now they are peering at me, and closing in on me, and in a second I must decide: Fight or flight?

They approach.

I choose fight. Rising up slowly, I nonchalantly say, "Fascinating meeting you're having."

Suddenly, Caine pushes his hands toward me, and I am pinned against the wall by an invisible force. I can't move, and for a moment I am scared, but then I remember what I can do. I don't even need to use fancy gestures. I force myself to smile arrogantly. "This really isn't the right way to welcome guests," I say calmly.

"A Perdido Beach spy, huh?" Caine asks.

"Nope," I say. "Hey, can you let me go? This is getting really uncomfortable."

"Well then, who do you work for?" he asks cautiously. But the force on me has lessened.

"Myself," I say, picking at my fingernails.

"Read her," Caine orders. Diana obediently comes toward me, offering her hand.

"No thanks," I say. They are fearful, and I relish the feeling of control I have over them. This has become a game. "As long as you play nice, I won't need to hurt you, and you won't need to know the strength of my power. We good?"

The force throws me back against the wall, and then I drop down. I feel bruised, but nothing's broken. "Bitch," I whisper. I straighten up and brush myself off. "If you _ever _do that again, someone's gonna pay. And I don't freaking care if you're a one bar, two bar, four bar, or five bazillion bar. Got it?" I say threateningly, completely invading his personal bubble.

Caine smiles cryptically at me. "For all we know, you could be a nobody, an ordinary human threatening us." His eyes dart to the right, just for a second, and I instinctively jerk my right hand away. I am not surprised to see Diana step back quickly.

"Nice try. But I'm not showing you what my power is until I'm ready, and you're certainly not going to find out how strong I am until I let you. We good?" Without waiting for an answer, I sprint through the side door. I hear them swearing, and on instinct, I bring air underneath me, lifting me into the air. I land on the roof of the church, and watch them run out the door, look around, and finally drive away in a car.

I follow them all the way.

From then on I am the FAYZ's resident enigma. I quickly find a way to introduce myself to the locals, and become known only as "Rachel," which I'm fine with. I mess with anything and everything, and make a habit of lounging around in front of Sam's and Caine's houses for no friggin reason other than the fact that I'm bored. Drake Merwin becomes increasingly annoying, but I don't do anything to him, in case anyone figures out my power. I still practice in secret, growing stronger every day.

Days pass, nights fall, girls die, Drake takes control, the Orc falls. La de da. I sneak in to the room for Andrew's experiment, see the footage, learn Sam and Caine's parentage and their birthdays. Once, the Coates kids trap me and make me put my hands in cement. I waited until they left so that Drake could equip himself with his torture tools, and then I loosened up the gravel and clay that was in the asphalt. It broke into pieces, and I took off before they could pull that stunt again. Not that it was very hard to get out of, but it was hell on my hands. I had to moisturize for days to get rid of it.

It was pretty funny to see their faces afterwards, anyway.

I am sleeping in an empty house on the outskirts of town when I hear the barks of something. Coyotes. But they are not only growls; mingled in with it is a guttural speech.

Talking coyotes.

Well, fuck.

I creep out of my house and fly above them so that they can't see me. They head for the day care center, and I can't decide whether or not to go in. Eventually, the coyotes come back out again, and suddenly it's a mess of kids and coyotes and power.

There is no time to think, just time to do.

I jump down from the roof, using air to cushion my fall. People don't really notice me until I start setting things on fire.

I whirl around, my mind shut down, instinct taking over.

"Rachel?"

"_Rachel?_"

"What is she _doing?_"

A coyote leaps at me from behind. I kill it with a fireball. Another row approaches, and with a quick flick of my wrist, a gorge appears underneath them, swallowing them whole. I close it up quickly, in case other people fall in.

The coyotes are careful, warier now. They slowly circle me. I don't make the first move, and neither do they.

"Darkness did not tell us about an elemental," says one of the coyotes.

An idea begins to form in my head. "Oh, very clever. You're the first one to figure it out," I say, stalling. I still need more to come...

"And such a powerful one," hisses another coyote. "You do not use your true power, human."

"Oh, and you're a reader now, too?" I ask irritably. Coates kids are gathering, and Caine and Diana are among them. I don't exactly want all of my carefully constructed mystery to fall down because of the observations of a few dogs.

"Darkness will be pleased if we bring you," muses the first coyote. "Verryyy pleased."

There are now around twenty coyotes circling me. Good enough. "Well, I'm not coming quietly." With that, I create a ring of fire around the coyotes. And me. Gulp.

They seem a bit surprised that I didn't use my hands. And also a bit annoyed. "You will burn along with us," yelps one at the edge of the ring.

"Oh really?" I ask, and for kicks, I light my eyes on fire. Fire, I have learned, does not burn me. And burning eyeballs are quite good for cinematic effect. I hear gasps all around me. "Well, I think it's about time you shut up."

With that, I let air pull me from the ground, extinguishing my eyes in the process (lemme tell you, it's pretty damn hard to see with burning eyeballs). I open a pit in the ground, pull water from the surround ocean, and wait until it fills. After I feel that it's deep enough to drown them, I deepen the hole and then close it, extinguishing the ring of fire. I let myself come back down, feeling a bit tired but certainly not as if I have reached the limits of my power, and watch as Sam chases away the rest of the coyotes.

But other people are watching me. My calm is broken, and I run. It probably would be a better idea to fly or something, but I'm not thinking straight. I just run. Eventually, I am surrounded in the center of town. Sam and Caine both step forward.

"Good job with those coyotes," I say, trying not to sound like a panicked, cornered animal. "You've got pretty nice balls of light."

I look around, then I look up. It is then that my common sense comes back and reminds me that I can fly.

"You're not going _anywhere,_" Caine threatens. There is a brief sliver of a moment, where I could swear Sam and Caine weren't quite there. But it passes quickly, although they have the relieved look of someone who's walked over a mile of hot coals and survived.

Caine, Diana, Jack, Drake, and the rest of the Coates kids are pretty much out the door when Drake stops. "Hold on," he says. "The coyotes said something. They said Darkness would be pleased to see you, that you were a strong elemental."

Oh no oh no oh no. I am sooo not going with the creepy snake-armed kid. But Drake continues, "I think we should bring her with us."

"Make me," I say matter-of-factly. Caine smirks and raises his hand, completely immobilizing me.

"You do know I can get out of this, right? I won't go with you quietly. I can run away at any time," I say through gritted teeth. "I know Caine is a 'four bar', or whatever you're calling it, but I'm pretty sure he can't drag me all the way to wherever you're going. Not to mention, I don't need to wave my hands to use my power. So you can hold me hostage or whatever, but that doesn't mean I won't kick and scream all the way there. You don't know how strong I am. I have never pushed myself to the limit. So you may be a damn powerful telekinetic, but I'm stronger."

Drake barely listens. With each mention of power, his eyes gleam. All their eyes do. They are completely, utterly attracted to power. Caine, ever the smart one, says, "Diana check."

I begin to thrash violently- or at least, I try to. I may be more powerful that Caine is, but I can't do anything against him, for now at least. So I resort to threats. "Diana," I say in a low voice, "if you read me I swear to God I'll burn your goddamn hands off, and I am not bluffing. You saw me."

She pauses, then laughs. "You wouldn't."

A second afterward, she is screaming and clutching her hands. "Don't push me," I spit.

Caine looks at me with hate-filled eyes, and I am thrown against the ground, again and again and again. The older kids quickly pull the younger ones away.

I laugh in his face. "You love her, don't you?" I snort. "Or you think you do, anyway. Well I've got news for you: She doesn't love you, not at all. She's power-hungry, just like the rest of you, and she's using you to protect her in her own personal war against Drake." I use the wind to flick a strand of reddish-brown hair out of my face. "You're pathetic."

The grip on me tightens. Caine is shaking with anger as he drags me away. "Whatever Darkness does to you, I hope it hurts," he says.

I smile brightly at the watching crowd of teens and tweens. "Don't worry," I say cheerfully. "Have a nice Thanksgiving."

Deep down, though, I am wondering how I'm going to get through this alive.

**A/N: That was a pretty long chapter, I know... I had to set some stuff up. Anyway, review, review, review!**

**~Ayatia~**


	2. Hungry In The Dark

**Disclaimer: **_**Gone **_**is copyrighted property of Michael Grant. He is the genius! Robert Frost- Fire and Ice. Laurie Halse Anderson also gets credit, for a) being a genius and b) writing **_**Wintergirls.**_

_Chapter 1_

_Some say the world will end in fire_

What I said has pissed Caine off, big time. I cannot move at all. As soon as we are away from Sam and his crew, Drake appears with duct tape and a rubber balloon, which he quickly fastens around my hands. I struggle against it, and try to direct my power, but it doesn't work. Even though I can focus my power without waving my hands, they apparently need to be free for the power to be concentrated.

Soon afterward I realize that plastic, not being made of anything remotely natural, can't be melted or deconstructed as I did the cement block. I wriggle in frustration. I'm not used to being helpless. Drake pushes me along with his whip hand, enjoyment evident in his face.

We walk through the desert for what seems like an eternity. The world dissolves into a vast expanse of gold and dusty yellow. A few hours after we start out, the remnants of a coyote pack sidle up next to us. They recognize me as the one who killed most of their pack and nip at my ankles. Not for the first time, I wish that I was a healer like Lana. My ankles are bleeding without stopping. Luckily, we stop at an abandoned ghost town from mining times. Truthfully, this isn't much better than the desert, but at least I can rest my ankles.

Drake disappears, saying he's going into the mine shaft. Diana attempts to start a small fire, not because it is cold, but to chase off the shadows that lurk in the depths of the town.

"You know," I say, "It might work better if you let me go."

Diana snorts as the others wander away, looking for kindling. "Like I'd let you go? I don't even have a reading on you."

I ponder this. "That's true." I look into her eyes. In their dark depths is a desperation for information. "Fine. I'll let you read me, and I promise not to kill you or anything, if you let me start a fire and get these stupid balloons off of me for five minutes."

She pauses. "Promise?"

"Yes."

She inches forward and carefully undoes the duct tape. The balloon comes off. I rub my wrists, relieved, and then aim one hand at the fire and release a carefully controlled burst of flame. The rush comes, the fire, the need to use more power, to explode until everything in sight is destroyed, to blindly show power because I can.

_Do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it_

I shake my head at the voice inside my head, and instead move my hand to my ankles, which are still bleeding. I concentrate. I haven't learned too much from Alex's AP books, but I did study some things, and I've read enough to know that blood (and pretty much your entire body) is made up mostly of water. So I figure, I may be able to turn it back or something so that I don't lose so much blood.

I focus on the tiniest arteries possible, imagining them turning on themselves, joining together, pushed by the power of the water the blood contains.

I peek open my eyes and am relieved to see that I have finally stopped bleeding.

I stare into the fire, watching it, making the flames stretch higher and higher, barely noticing that I'm using my power. "So, Diana..." I say. "A Coates kid?"

She looks at me strangely. "Duh," she says. "Everyone knows that." She takes my hand in hers. "You from out of-"

Her voice breaks off, falters. "...town."

She is still clutching my hand like a lifeline when Caine comes back. "What...?" he says, about to yell at her before he notices what she's doing. "Oh. So. What is she?"

Diana barely answers. "F-f-f.."

"Spit it out," says Caine, looking angry.

"Five."

Immediately I know this is

_Goodverygood_

bad. Caine is... was... the most powerful one there was, excluding Sam and probably Little Pete. I know he definitely doesn't like the idea of someone more powerful than he is. I smile smugly, but then the pieces of duct tape and balloon are lifted up threateningly. "Don't test me," he warns.

I raise my hands in surrender, then realize it probably isn't a good position to be in, so I quickly lower them. "Calm down, I'm not here to-" I break off. The coyotes are circling once again.

"Take humans to master," says the Pack Leader gruffly.

Diana, Caine and I all rise, looking uncertain. Pack Leader nudges me and Caine forward as Drake appears again, looking exhausted but with eyes shining.

I am unsure what to do, but I slowly approach the entrance of the mine shaft. After all, I can handle a bit of darkness. I'm the most powerful thing for miles.

_::Burn/kill/crush/kill/blast/kill/_

_drown/kill/explode/kill/destroy/kill::_

When I walk into the mine, however, every instinct tells me to leave! go! to run far, far away, where whatever rests at the bottom of that shaft can ever hurt me. Caine drags me down with him anyway, still fuming.

We reach the bottom of the shaft. A strange greenish glow emanates from-

Pain.

Pure, unimaginable pain, every nerve is screaming firefirefire, it hurts it hurts it hurts-

Somebody is screaming, and I don't know if it's me or Caine or the monster or all three of us at once, all that I know is that it hurts, all over and it won't go away...

Through the pain something is talking to me. Someone is saying something

_in my brain in my brain it's in my brain_

but I can't tell what. The minutes they morph into hours which change into nights which become days. I can't tell one place in my body from the next, I don't even know if I'm me anymore, all I am is painpainpain and it won't go away. I am pain and pain is me; there is nothing, nothing else in the world anymore, all that's left is torture. I vaguely wonder, at the back of my mind, if there is some way to die, some way to end my life, but it is swept away on waves and waves of pain.

After an eternity, it ends.

The world seems miraculously silent. My nerves have stopped their trilling, and I can finally think. My stomach growls and twists in on itself. I wonder how much time has passed since I came down.

I peer through the depths of the cave. The garish green glow is gone, and a white light shines at the top of the shaft.

It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I drag myself toward the light, only to be stopped by something dragging on my arm. It's Caine, cheeks hollow, eyes sunken into his face. He's curled up into a ball, but his hand is stuck to mine like glue. I drag him to his feet, and we stumble up and away from the shaft.

Diana, Drake and the rest of the Coates kids are camped near the entrance. The sun is above us in the sky and the heat beats mercilessly down upon us.

Diana sees us first. She rushes over to a half-conscious Caine. "Are you... oh my-"

I crumple to the ground. I'm incredibly tired, not to mention thirsty, and I can't speak. "How... how long?" I ask weakly.

Drake barely glances at me. "Three days," he says. "So. Diana told me. Five bars."

"What?" I say, confused. "Oh, yeah. Water?" I can barely talk, and what comes out is hoarse and croaky.

He tosses me a bottle. I gulp it down, my entire being focused on that liter of water. See, I can't make water appear out of thin air unless there's enough condensation, and condensation is pretty hard to come by in a desert.

Drake doesn't seem to notice. "So what's your power, then?"

I glare at him. "Like I'm telling you."

Before I can blink, his whip hand lashes out and back, leaving a cut in my cheek. "Bitch," I gasp.

He repeats, "What's your power?"

"Elements. Water. Fire. Air. Earth." I slowly get up. "And I know you're planning some sort of takeover with Caine. Don't bother getting me involved."

Drake slices my face again as thanks, ties my hands up, and starts getting everybody moving again.

_I am walking into the mine shaft again. At the bottom of the shaft, I see the green glow, and I instinctively raise my hands in fear. But no pain comes._

_Instead, the vague shape of a man appears, looking as if he's made up of thousands, millions of crystals of all different shapes, but all are green. _

"_You're the Darkness," I say fearfully. Then: "You don't look very dark."_

_It regards me. "I am the gaiaphage."_

I twist and turn. "Gaiaphage... gaiaphage..." I murmur.

"_And I am hungry."_

"Hungry in the dark... he's hungry in the darkness..."

_I move back, back up the mine shaft. Then I am running, running through the desert, but everywhere I turn there are green figures, all chanting, "Hungry... hungry... hungry..."_

"Hungry in the dark."

Dark shifts, quivers, and changes into shades of gray. I open my eyes wider and look around. I am asleep in an unfamiliar room made of wood. My hands are still bound, but there are scorch marks on the walls, half of the floor is caved in, and a portion of the roof is blown off.

"Wha..." I stumble out of the bed. "Where...?"

Drake sidles in, carrying a bowl of soup. I am instantly defensive. "Why are you here?"

"Relax," he says, "I'm the only one who's been keeping you alive these past few months."

"Well, thank you, but- MONTHS?"

"Three," he says cheerfully. "While Diana's been busy doting over Caine-because let's face it, no one else will, not after what happened to Chunk-I've been keeping you alive. You don't really take much care. You barely moved except once in a while, to set the house on fire, and then again to blow several holes in the roof, and then again to open a pit in the floor. After that I had to tie you up again. But other than that you've been quite quiet."

I just look at him. He's crazy.

Drake sighs. "Don't look at me like that. I have a... a proposition for you. I know that you're more powerful than Caine, although you two are equally insane."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," I growl.

"...but the point is, you're more powerful. You can take him down. So now there's a lot less worrying about if Sam will do this and that and whether I can take Caine on. All you have to do is set him on fire or something, and I can take care of Diana," he says, a wicked smile spreading across his face at the thought, "and then we go from there."

"Meaning, you kill me."

He pretends to look shocked. "Me? Never!"

"So you want me to walk in and kill some guy who's still really powerful for no reason other than the fact that you're jealous with him, and then afterwards you kill me. What's in it for me?"

Drake ponders this. "Your freedom?"

Well, it's not the worst idea. But on the other hand, all I have to do is get this stupid balloon off my hands and I'm free anyway. "I'll think about it," I say cautiously.

He smiles icily. "You have until... well... an hour, actually, considering Caine just woke up. So decide quickly." With a final crack of his whip hand, he leaves.

The minute he leaves, I start furiously wriggling against the duct tape. It's been weakened by a few months' wear and tear, and I'm finally able to rip my hand away, scraping my skin in the process. I pull my other hand out, throw the now useless balloon aside, and look around. The wall I nearly burned up looks fairly weak, and with a little more controlled burning I am able to kick a hole through it. It makes a huge noise, though, and I hear footsteps, so I burn down the entire wall and run through it, probably getting a dozen splinters in the process.

_::Burn/kill/crush/kill/blast/kill/_

_drown/kill/explode/kill/destroy/kill::_

My feet pound against grass as I run toward a nearby forest, leaving the cottage and the looming figure of Coates Academy behind.

I am safely into the town of Perdido Beach by the time the entire house goes up in flames.

**~Ayatia~**


	3. Politik

**A/N: Since I'm already on the computer and messing around instead of studying the locations of Zambia and Tanzania like a good little student, I decided I might as well write this chapter.**

**If you're the type of person who listens to music while they read (I'm the type of person who listens to music while they do everything) listen to Sky Ferreira's "Obsession." Yes, it's pop, but it's addicting, good-beat, BAMF pop!**

**Also: To clarify something: The stuff in italics aren't Rachel's thoughts, per se. It's something else. Or it's Darkness, but I try to make that clear.**

**Lastly.. if you haven't heard of SaneLunatic's Cry to the Moon and What Went Before (and you kinda have to have been living under a pond for the last six months to do that) READ IT! Because I am totally, utterly addicted to it. **

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the Gone series. If I did, Plague would be out and Petey would have achieved world domination. I do not own Robert Frost's Fire And Ice, and no one's dumb enough to pretend they made it up. ;)**

**

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_Chapter 2_

_Some say in ice_

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**

_Hungry in the dark..._

That's cool.

_Hungry in the darkness..._

Dude, I get it.

_Hungry..._

So am I, so make me a sammich, goddamnit!

I pop out of my sheets like a jack-in-the-box, sweating, but feeling more in control than I have in months. I'm back in control of myself now; I can find food, sleep normally, and blow stuff up. All in all, life is pretty damn good.

Except for the whole FAYZ thing. Whatever. Even the FAYZ is looking really good right now. I mean, come on, it's only kids, some of which have mutant powers, totally doing whatever the hell they want! For once, there isn't anyone telling me what to do or who to act like. I decide what I want to do. If I really wanted to, I could probably decide what other people want to do too.

Hmm, there's a thought.

I could totally join the council that Sam the Laser Boy and Astrid the Genius Girl set up! Then I could really decide things.

Feeling happier than a fat man with a Twinkie, I march confidently down to the center of Perdido Beach, where as usual, a bunch of kids have congregated at the center, complaining about ingrown toenails, loose teeth, fights over CareBears (whatever, everyone knows they have crazy butt sex with each other when no one's looking), and ownership of the remote. I consider helping disperse them

_that's a job for ordinary humans. ones with nothing more to offer_

but I decide not to. There's already someone moving over to help them.

I march confidently into the church where I know the council congregates. Sure enough, a bunch of kids stare at me as I walk in. There's Sam, Astrid, a kid named Arthur or something like that, Howard, the Mexican kid, Mary and her brother John, and a few kids I don't recognize.

"Um.. excuse me?" Astrid says coolly, who I seem to have interrupted.

"Sorry," I say smoothly, "I'm Rachel, I don't know if you remember me from earlier, I kind of let Caine and his crew drag me into the middle of nowhere to shove me down a mine shaft or something, long story short it was highly unpleasant... But, I'm back now, and I seriously want to help making some decisions."

Astrid looks annoyed. "The kids of Perdido Beach already voted me, Sam, Edilio, Albert, Howard, Mary, John, Dahra, and Elwood. It's not up to you to decide."

"Well, people didn't really know me then, did they?" I counter. "Personally, I think I have certain... talents to offer the town." To prove my point, I light a flame in the palm of my hand. Astrid looks surprised for all of two seconds, then regains her composure and says calmly, "Just because you're a moof doesn't mean you can just interrupt council meetings and announce that you'd like to join us."

"Additionally," I say casually, "I have information about what Caine and co. are up to. And I don't feel like telling you such vital information but being kept in the dark about everything else."

Albert nods almost respectfully and says, "She has a point. Rachel here has vital information she can share with us, as well as powers that it seems she has offered to use to assist us. It's only fair that for such a commitment she get something in return... a seat on the council. I agree."

I smile. Everything is going perfectly. Today is a really, really good day.

Sam, who has been thinking so hard he looks constipated, finally says something. "I think we should let Rachel in the council, but only if you agree to share all your information with us, as well as use your powers, whatever they are, to help this town. You'll have to explain to us the extent of your powers," he says thoughtfully. "For all we know, you're an inexperienced one bar."

"Hey!" I say, offended.

_I am the destroyer wrecker of buildings master of flames I am the storm bringer and you are nothing_

Astrid regards me angrily. "I still don't like it. We shouldn't encourage this kind of singularity, it'll encourage everyone in this town who has even a piece of information to barter for food, power, time off chores... we shouldn't do it."

Albert disregards her. "All in favor of letting Rachel onto the council?"

Albert, of course, raises his hand, and so does Sam. Mary, John, Elwood, Dahra, and Elwood raise their hands. Astrid, Edilio, and Howard remain silent.

"Fine," Sam says quickly. "She's in."

I see Astrid shoot Sam an angry glance, and think (with a little bit of glee), that there's going to be some trouble at home tonight. But I force myself to be serious, thank the council for letting me in, and I take a seat.

Astrid stands back up and starts to talk. "As I said before we were interrupted-" cue stank eye at me, "-yesterday I was thinking, and I realized that the power plant is completely unguarded. Caine and his people could move in and control the power, which is definitely not something we want them doing. Additionally, they would have control of nuclear wastes and other hazardous substances, and we all know we don't want Drake Merwin in control of dangerous weapons of mass destruction."

I can't totally understand her with those huge words, but I do agree with her on point: I don't want Drake in control of anything dangerous, ever. I mean, the guy _likes _the gaiaphage. 'Nuff said.

"So, what I propose is that we mobilize more forces to guard the power plant. The amount we have there isn't enough right now, and they aren't as well trained as some of Edilio's other soldiers. We should have at least two more guards there that are really good with guns and things like that, and to be safe, we should probably station Computer Jack there as well. He's good with computers. They won't be able to gain control of the station without him." Astrid steps aside to allow conversation to begin.

"Sounds good," Sam agrees immediately. Of course he does. He's trying to smooth things over with Astrid, and this annoys me more than anything. They're complaining about me getting a spot on the council for information and power, but people will agree with Astrid just because they want a little action later?

I frown, but I don't say anything. Yet.

Sam continues, "I'd like to discuss this later, but first of all, Rachel, come up."

I stand, unable to resist a smirk as I walk up, although with everyone's stare at me, I feel as if I'm being interrogated. To make it worse, Astrid begins the questioning.

"So. You're a moof. What can you do?"

Well, no chit chat for this one. "Elemental manipulation." I don't elaborate. Let little miss five-syllables figure that one out.

She frowns, confused. "You can manipulate elements on the periodic table?"

"Yes," I say, deadpanning, "You should see what I can do with beryllium. Of course not! Haven't you heard of the 'original' scientific elements?"

It dawns on her. "Oh. Air. Earth. Water. Fire."

"Yes. Also, anything containing a mixture of those elements. The more natural it is, the better. Things like gravel, liquid solutions with water and a solute-" yeah, take that, I speak science- "and explosives. Anything with plastic or preservatives, on the other hand, is completely untouchable. That's how Drake kept me quiet."

Silence follows this. Then Astrid, ever the logical one, poses the next logical question. "Did Diana read you? How powerful are you?"

"Five bar."

Silence. You could've heard Darkness burp. Not that Darkness _would _burp, because, you know, it's "hungry in the dark," or whatever.

Astrid narrows her eyes. "Prove it."

"You really want me to prove it? That's very out of character for you, Miss Logic," I say incredulously. "I have never tested the limits of my power."

_But you could. You should._

"I don't know what would happen if I did," I continue. "All I know is, it would be very bad. So. We done yet?"

She raises her eyebrows. "Not yet. Are there limitations, at least? Anything you can't do?"

_No_

"Yes. I can't shoot fire from my hands if I don't have oxygen. The higher the humidity, the harder it is to conjure fire. Same thing with water- if there's a lot of fire around, it's really hard to just conjure water. I can grow things very quickly, but I need seeds, I can't do it from scratch. I can't be burned or drowned unless I allow myself to. I think." I pause. "I can use my power without aiming with my hands, but I still require my hands to be free to use it. I can use air-wind, really-to make myself fly, though it requires effort. I can shrink or stop waves, flames, avalanches-stuff like that-although I haven't really tried it that much. And, uh, that's it."

"Anything else? Can you walk on water? Turn lead into gold?" Astrid mocks.

"Water, yes. Lead, no."

Astrid looks like she's ready to bite my head off, so Sam steps in, sending me a warning look. "Okay, we get that you're powerful. You'll probably be... well, I don't know," he says, running a hand through his hair. "You may be helping us to grow food, because that's our number one priority, but purifying water and stopping fires is important too. Anyway. This information on Caine. What is it?"

I tell them everything I know about Sleeping Beauty, how he killed Chunk, what he was whispering, and that he woke up. "I left after that," I admit. "So I don't know what they're planning now. What I do know is that they need food."

"You're a bit too late for that," Astrid says, irritated. "Drake raided Ralph's a few days ago."

"Oh." I pause. "How?"

"I don't know," she says, sounding tired. "I really don't."

"Well, maybe we should send more guards to guard the food, because if we starve, it really won't matter who has power. I mean, you have who knows how many guards at the power plant already, when we need to save food from the zekes, guard our stores, and stop people from killing their own pets!" Yeah, I'd been doing a little bit of recon here and there. I had no idea how many guards were at the power plant, though. "Why don't we just leave Computer Jack at the power plant with a few guards? Jack's more than capable of dealing with baddies with his technology! I mean, hell, I can defend the place myself, and we could keep Jack there, since handing the only kid who can manipulate the technology for the power plant to Caine on a silver platter seems like a pretty bad idea! I mean, we don't even know if Caine wants to raid the power plant!"

I am getting really worked up on this, and I have no idea why. Astrid's just such a control freak, I feel the need to fight back a little on my own. I knew people like her back at home, people who thought they were on top of everyone else just because they were prettier and smarter, and all they would do was look down their noses at you and give you a superior look, like, _Nice try, kid, but I thought up a better idea ages ago._

That does it. The rest of the council starts shouting, arguing, disagreeing. No one is listening to anyone else. It's complete pandemonium, and the worst thing is, nothing's getting done. I'd rather just go and _do _something than sit and talk about it all day. Even if it ends up being the wrong decision.

* * *

Edilio and I have spent the entire day scavenging for seeds, and we're still not done. It's disgusting work, sorting through age-old litter, finding the occasional apple or watermelon seed. Unfortunately beef doesn't grow on trees, so there's nothing we can do about that. We hit the jackpot with a compost heap that had too much citrus, so nothing had decomposed. Bad for composting, good for us. Everyone is on the verge of developing major scurvy.

We stop at an agricultural area with a field of rotted peas. I raise my hand, and the peas melt into the earth, turning into fresh soil. Edilio says, "Hey, you can start your magic or whatever. I'm going to look for more seeds, see what I can find."

I look at him. "Seriously? We've been at it all day. You should rest."

"We still need more food. Whatever we can get is good."

I shrug. "You can't always be a hero, Edilio. All you end up with is a lot of pain and unhappiness, because when you finally please everyone else, you end up miserable yourself." Seeing the doubtful look on his face, I say, "Look, if you want to do something, round up the kids and tell them that the more seeds you get, the more food there is. If people are really starving, they'll get you anything and everything."

Edilio nods, then quickly turns around, sticks a toe in the field, and jumps back. A few zekes swoop up where his foot was, then disappear into the ground. "You'd better come with me," he says grimly. "We're going to need a safer place to grow."

**

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**

Over the next few weeks, we try everything. Using old areas, carving out new farming grounds- wherever we go, the zekes follow. It is Quinn who finally finds a solution.

"It's... it's kind of simple," he says, shifting from foot to foot in front of all the council members. "The zekes are tunneling whenever we build something new. So, all we do is find a place with a foundation or something indoors, and they won't be able to get at it."

Lana Arwen Lazar isn't very happy when we march into Clifftop and tell her we're rebuilding the rooftop garden into farmland, but she, like everyone here, would do anything for food.

Two hours later, I have torn apart all of the fancy trees and gardens and replaced them with simple furrows of land. Edilio somehow manages to hook up the old irrigation system to the new land, and we begin planting seeds. We don't use up much space.

"There's not very much," Edilio observes of the pitiful yet varied amount of produce I have managed to grow.

"Well, trees take longer," I say, annoyed. Growing complicated organisms is exhausting. "And apples have a lot of seeds, so we'll have a lot of trees. I'll do the citrus fruits tomorrow, and I'll regrow the carrots and potatoes. Now, if you don't mind, I'm just going to find a nice bed here to pass out on."

"I thought you were the five-bar girl? Can't you just make a bunch of pineapple appear ouf of thin air?" he jeers after me.

"There's a big difference between conjuring a wad of flames and growing eleven living multicellular eukaryotic organisms!" I yell back. I turn around and face him. "Every power has its limits. I'm creating something out of something that's already there. Speeding up the process, really. But creating something out of nothing? That's God."

**

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**

Five days in and I am already bored of the council. I want nothing to do with it. They are constantly fighting each other, never agreeing, never getting anywhere. Everyone needs their opinion heard, we always need to reach a compromise, blah blah blah. Personally, I think it worked better with Sam as dictator, but I'm not saying anything to Astrid. Honestly, that girl's a genius, no doubt about it, but the FAYZ must have messed with her hormones, because she acts like she's PMSing all month long.

I don't even know why I wanted to join it, that's the funny thing. All I know is that it's a good way to get influence. I guess.

As per usual, after the meeting, I meet up with Edilio and some of his guards. They follow me to Clifftop. While Edilio's men stand watch, I grow things and Edilio loads them onto wheelbarrows and into boxes for the hungry (and lazy) kids below. They've stopped trying to please the zekes, thankfully, and now the entire town's fresh produce is entirely dependent on me. I like having

_power_

responsibility. People trust me now. Kids adore me. Of course, if Caine had fed them his liver with refried lima beans, they probably would have gobbled it up and worshiped him like a god, too.

"Alright Edilio," I say. "I'm done. It is so ridiculously hard growing root vegetables without winter. They need to go through this entire cycle and..." I stop. "Well, you get the point. See you tomorrow." I jump off the roof, allowing air to cushion me, and walk toward my designated house at the center of town. I hate it: sharing with other people, having kids running around the house all the time, Astrid running in to tell me 'important council things' at two in the morning... it was a lot easier living in hiding.

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Sure enough, at two in the morning, Brianna bursts in. "Rachel, Rachel!" she says, shaking me at lightning fast speed.

"Oh my god," I mutter, "make it stop." I blearily sit up. "What is it?"

"Jack's gone," she says. "Computer Jack. He's gone."

"Left for Caine, I s'pose," I mumble, my head hitting pillow again. "Night."

Five minutes later, Taylor pops into my room. "There's a fire near Alameda!" she says. "You have to come, there are people in that house!"

So I stumble out of bed to the house at the edge of Alameda. The kids had apparently left the burner on after trying to prep what looked suspiciously like heroin. It wasn't even a big fire, really. Honestly, someone could have put it out with a towel. But I stopped the fire and then shot water out of the nearby sink for good measure.

_power. power. power. power. power. power. power. power. power._

After I had rescued the kids and put out the goddamn fire, Brianna rushed me back to my house again and finally let me sleep.

**

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**

"You _what?" _Astrid said coldly.

"Well, I just figured... I mean, there was no time..." Taylor, who Astrid disliked even more than me, was looking down. "It was really hard to tell how bad it was..."

"So, instead of notifying Sam, me, and Ellen, you up and decide to just grab Rachel, a _newcomer, _and put her in a situation which requires her to use her power? Taylor, that's unnecessary. From what I hear, it was a few scared kids. You probably could've stopped it on your own."

Taylor bounces, still looking confused about what she did wrong.

Astrid rounds on me. "Why? Why must you always be at the center of everything?"

"Astrid," I say wearily, "I didn't try to. She told me there was a fire. I didn't know it wasn't bad until I got there."

"And then you flood the kitchen... why? Just because you can?"

"I was tired. I... I thought it would help. I didn't know I would flood it."

"The issue," Astrid says, now addressing the entire council, "is that a major part of our lives now revolves around Rachel Barry. We've entirely stopped getting food from anywhere else and the zekes have taken over. Kids aren't working at all, but they're still getting food. The only other intake of food we have is from Quinn's fishing, and thankfully no one's asked Rachel to help with that either. Every single little thing these days is Rachel, Rachel, Rachel. What happens if Rachel leaves? Decides she's just bored, or tired, or likes Caine's side more?"

I raise my eyebrows in disbelief. Seriously? I like Caine's side more? Like, the side with Drake and everything?

"We'll collapse. We'll die. We need to be more independent. Because Rachel is the only thing keeping us alive right now."

**

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**

Freeze. Snap.

"Oh, I'm controlling their lives now?"

Freeze. Snap.

"They're becoming codependent?"

Freeze. Freeze. Crack.

"They can't live without me?"

One long jet of ice. Bingo. I freeze an entire tree, then snap off a limb.

"Damn right they can't. I'm working my ass off every day and Astrid complains about it."

I freeze an entire circle of twigs and roots and set it on fire.

"Isn't it just awful when people have enough to eat? Oh, and I hate it when people have healthy gum tissue. And isn't that lack of burns and resulting saving of meds just absolutely awful? Oh, I know, Astrid. I get it."

I raise a huge pile of stones, like a rock-colored amount of hail about to fall. Then I freeze it, and watch as they drill holes in the ground when they fall.

_power_

"Well, maybe they don't want me around."

I freeze two more trees, still wet from a recent rainstorm.

_power power power_

"They can wake up in the middle of the night, put out fires, stop tidal waves, and grow their own goddamn plants on an ordinary schedule. Because I sure as hell am not doing anything for them anymore."

I clump water together and freeze it into a razor-tipped icicle, then hurl it at the nearest tree.

**

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**

"We've come to a decision," Sam announces the next day. "Astrid has pointed out that we don't have any new information on what Caine is planning and, frankly, the council's getting crazy with Rachel around."

Astrid picks up, "So basically, we want you to go back to Coates and spy."

"Huh? Spy?"

"Yes, spy. Go back, pretend... whatever. Say something. Say we persecuted you for your powers or something. Say you couldn't resist Drake's charms. Whatever does it for you."

"What if I don't want to?" I say, folding my arms.

"We kick you off the council," Sam says flatly. "You won't have to take care of the plants or fires or anything. No more midnight wake-up calls. Just regularly report back to us. I'm sure you can figure out a way."

I don't really want to go, and I half-consider quitting the council. But I can't. Something tells me it is imperative that I stay in this position.

"It's the most logical choice," Astrid says smugly. Doesn't Sam ever get tired of his ice princess?

"Fine," I say. "I'll do it."

**

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**A/N: That felt like a really, really long chapter. Don't know why. I don't really like writing politics, though.**

**If you know the next line of Robert Frost's poem, you can take a guess at what the next chapter's gonna be about. I'M EXCITED ;)**

**Also: Tanzania is below Lake Victoria. Zambia is southwest of Tanzania. There's your geography lesson for the day :D.**

**REVIEW!**

**~Ayatia~**


	4. Kiss With A Fist

**A/N: I kept meaning to write this chapter but I didn't, so here I am at night on a Sunday, trying to make up for it. I have wanted to write this chapter for SO LONG though! Just read the line from the poem and you'll get it ;)**

**Anyway, thank you SO SO SO much to SaneLunatic and thesmokelives, who review every chapter. :D Thankss! Speaking of, thesmokelives' Two Second Difference and A Shift of Power are REALLY good. And if you are completely freaking insane and don't want to read that, at least read Sexy Pie Time. It is a work of beauty and grace. It brought me to tears.**

**Also-also: If you're reading What Went Before (which you should be, if you value your life), listen to 'Howl' and 'Kiss With A Fist' by Florence + The Machine with it, cause it WORKS. Hell, listen to Florence + the Machine with **_**anything**_**. **

**DISCLAIMER: Yesssss I got the rights to Gone... jk, jk, still don't own it. If I did, Plague would be out, the kids would have rabies, and Sam would go all psychotic and start burning shit up. I also don't own Fire and Ice.**

**Okay, sorry for this wicked long A/N. Now, story time!**

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_Chapter 3_

_From what I've tasted of desire_

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So here I am, with nothing more than an energy bar and a can of beans (a parting present from the darling Astrid) walking very slowly toward Coates. I am not particularly happy to be going back at all. Between Drake, Caine, and Diana, I am sure they will come up with a perfectly horrid way to punish me for running away.

I snort. Let them try.

They haven't even bothered to close the huge wrought-iron gates that lead up to Coates. Either someone was lazy, or they're expecting me.

I walk up the long, winding drive, and my hand is touching the door handle when I hear the click of a semi-automatic. "Turn around," a voice says threateningly.

My mind races. A gun? I could hurl it out of his hand, but if he manages to shoot it before I make my move, that could definitely kill me. I have no illusions about that. Not even the most powerful wind could stop a bullet.

I turn around slowly. "Hello, Drake," I say coolly, my pulse racing. "Oh, Caine and Diana came too? I must be pretty important. What I want to know, though, is how you knew I was coming."

Caine steps forward. Drake looks annoyed that he isn't doing the interrogation, and I smirk. For all his power and ability to scar, he's still held on a tight leash by Caine.

"Bug," Caine says nonchalantly. "He saw you coming."

Silently, I am thankful. I thought they might have heard the council conversation.

Caine circles me lazily. "You ran away."

"No shit, Sherlock."

Drake points and shoots, and the turf right under my feet briefly kicks up. Caine turns threatening eyes on me. "Next time you talk back to me, he'll shoot your leg."

I don't doubt it. I keep my mouth shut.

"The thing is, Rachel, you're too powerful to be kept alive. You have no allegiances. It really would be quite simple to kill you. On the other hand, if you agree to stop trying to break free every chance you're given, and to follow my orders, we'll let you live. We'll even let you run around without Drake holding a gun to your back."

I am lightly sweating. I don't like this, not at all. I can only imagine what kinds of 'commands' Caine will dream up.

"And if I decide I don't like this arrangement?" I say cautiously.

"We'll hand you to Drake."

"Well, I guess that doesn't leave me with many options, does it?" I say heavily. "Fine."

"Good," Caine says. Drake lowers his gun, albeit reluctantly, and they flank me as we enter Coates.

**

* * *

**

Diana leads me through a maze of dorms and shows me a room that she says is mine. "The entire room is reinforced with rubber," she adds as she leaves, "so blowing it apart isn't going to do any good."

"Whyever would I want to do that?" I say innocently. "I just pledged allegiance to Fearless Leader over there."

Diana ignores me. "Drake, Caine, and I are all nearby. So seriously, don't try running away."

I'm starting to wonder how the hell I'm supposed to get my messages to Sam if I've got eyes on me 24/7.

"Fine," I say. "Now what?"

"Follow me," she says curtly.

A few minutes later, we arrive in some sort of dining hall. The food has been emptied long ago, and I can tell that Coates has the same problem as the Perdido Beach kids do: no food. Doesn't matter if you're a freak or a normal, at the end of the day, you still gotta eat.

Drake and Caine look up as Diana comes in. I nervously perch on the edge of a table. Caine's people are everywhere, and I have no means of escape.

"First things first," Caine says flatly, "we have no food. So, Rachel, Bug and Panda have found some seeds. There's a greenhouse at the back of the school. Do your thing there once or twice a day, or else no one's eating."

Great. Just when I thought I got away from this...

"Secondly, the power plant."

"What power plant?" I interrupt.

"The nuclear power plant. It's north of Perdido Beach. We're going to take it. If we control the power, we control them."

I remember the council meetings, when I insisted that guarding the power plant was unnecessary. I push it out of my mind, and quickly say, "How are we going to do that? Isn't it guarded?"

Drake snorts. "Since when has that been an issue?"

I shrug. "I'm just saying, if one of them calls Sam..."

"Well then, you'll blow him to pieces, won't you?" Caine says indifferently.

"He has a longer range than me, not to mention the fact that I can be hurt by his fire, just like anyone else. What he does, that's not natural. Anyway, Fearless Leader, if you're so tough, why don't you deal with Sammy-boy on your own?"

He growls before hurriedly changing the topic. "Anyway. Diana's going to get Computer Jack tonight, because none of us are going to be able to figure out how to work those computers, and Bug's scouting the area right now."

Diana looks pissed off. "I still don't get what we're supposed to be doing at the power plant anyway. How's it gonna help?"

Caine, Drake and me all roll our eyes. "It's obvious, Diana," Drake says sweetly. "If they don't have power to run their refrigerators and microwaves and iPods, they'll do anything to get it back."

Diana still looks uncertain. I personally don't understand why she's making such a big deal. It makes sense to everyone else.

"Shut up, Drake," Caine says. "Now, Diana, you should probably get Jack." When she doesn't move, he adds, "_Now._"

Caine gets up, and Drake wanders off to go make out with a gun or something. A few seconds later, a hand drags me off the table. "Ow," I grumble.

Caine drags me away from the cafeteria and through a maze of halls (man, this school is _huge_), all while holding my arm with his hand, like moms do with their 'problem child'.

"Is this really necessary?" I mutter. He doesn't answer. Five seconds later: "Where the hell are we going, anyway?" Then: "Are we there yet?" No answer.

"How bout now?"

"Are we there _yet?_!

An invisible fist slams me into a wall. "Ow," I say again. "You don't need to be so goddamned emotional about it. What is it, your time of month?"

I am rewarded with another slam against the wall. I struggle to stay awake. I feel something hot running down the side of my face. "That... that really..." I struggle to speak.

"Oh, for God's sake-"

And then I pass out.

**

* * *

**

A few minutes later, I wake up. My head hurts like hell, and I'm back in the cabin that Drake kept me in while I was delirious. The presence of the gaiaphage seems to hang here like a tangible object.

For a moment, the sights sounds smells of those awful days come flooding back. "Hungry in the dark," I choke out.

Caine looks over at me. He's been examining the wall that I blew out on my way out of here last time. "You too, huh?" he asks moodily.

"What? The Darkness? Yeah," I say, rubbing my head.

"See, I can't remember anything. It comes back in bursts. I didn't even remember it was you there until yesterday." He pauses. "Do you still get the nightmares?"

_Every night._

"Yeah," I mutter. "Always the same thing. It's hungry." I shudder, then round on him angrily. "Why did you have to go down there? Hell, why did you have to drag me down with you?"

"Because you wouldn't have come otherwise," he says, looking almost distracted.

"And we all know how that turned out!" I say furiously. "Why, why did you drag me down there with you? That, that... _thing _is stuck in my head and it won't get out, it won't go away and there is fucking NOTHING I can do about it!" I'm shouting. My hair has come down, an unruly, tangled brown mess. My hands are clenched into fists, all powers forgotten. "I _hate _it! _Hate _it! And all because you thought it would make you.. what, more powerful? Better than Drake? Tell you what to do with your miserable life? Well, it's stuck in your head now too! Don't act so surprised," I spit, "everyone can tell. You're desperate to do something. What are you gonna do, throw a few people off cliffs? You think that's gonna make it better? _You _let it in your head._ I _didn't want to go in there. _You _pulled me down there." I advance on him, and suddenly I'm punching every useless bit of his useless body, even though I'm not very good and it probably hurts my hand more than it does him. "Stupid, useless, arrogant, stuck-up _asshole_!"

Caine grabs my fists, indifferently, barely even trying. I'm almost foaming at the mouth, I'm so angry, and I don't care, the only thing that matters is to hurt that stupid bastard for letting that thing into my head, it won't go away and it won't leave me alone and it comes into my head every night and bleeds nightmares and horrors in its wake. "Let _go of me!"_ I scream, twisting, "let _go!"_

"Calm _down-"_

"I will not 'calm down'!" I screech. "It's your fault, it's all your fault, just-just-" Yet another wave of anger hits me, and I repeatedly pummel him with all my might. My brain is filled with nothing but pure, blind rage. Caine pins my arms to my sides, and I wriggle a bit before suddenly stopping. All of the anger has left me, and I have no energy left to fight, to burn, to do anything.

Caine waits until he is sure that I'm not going to bite his head off when he's not looking, then asks, as if nothing has happened, "So you have them too. The nightmares."

I look at him wanly. "Yes."

"But what happens?"

I shrug. "I see it. It's in the cave, all green and glowing, and it hurts my head just being there. It tells me it's hungry. Then everything changes. I'm.." I falter. I've never remembered this part before, but it hits me full force, as if I've always known. "I'm burning down houses. Setting people on fire. Causing avalanches and tidal waves and hurricanes. I'm always mad, for some reason that I don't know, but whatever it is, it takes over. I usually get exhausted after an hour. Perdido Beach ends up in ruins, and the thing is... I'm happy about it. I see the Darkness kind of lurking near the trees, and someone else coming toward me through a bunch of mist, and that's when I wake up. Same thing. Every time."

Caine sighs and sits down next to me. "I see the gaiaphage in the cave. It hurts me, usually, and tells me it's hungry. Then it sort of changes. It's brighter, shinier. It tells me it's fed, and I feel happy, but it's not really me. That _thing _is taking over my mind."

I know exactly what he is talking about. The rage and the savage happiness in my dreams are not mine. But I will not let it in my head. "So?" I ask, trying to regain some semblance of nonchalance.

Without warning, I feel an invisible fist punch me in the stomach. I fly across the room and stay there, gasping, trying to regain my breath. I'm just too tired to fight back.

"_So?"_ Caine thunders. "So it's taking over my head! It's trying to tell me what to do! But I. Won't. Let. It!" He punctuates each statement with a telekinetic slap. "You're the only other one who was there. You were in there at the same time as me, you were sleeping-in a coma- whatever, for as long as I was. Don't you have _any idea _what happened?"

"Do I look like Nancy Drew?" I ask drily. "If I knew, I would be doing something about it. Sorry, but you kind of brought it on yourself."

"Oh yeah?" Caine asks, stepping even closer, his gaze inches from mine. "Well you better figure out what to do, because it's doing the same things to your head too."

Another wave of emotion washes over me, making my senses tingle and my face go hot. "I don't... so... I mean, what am I supposed to do about this? Go back down the mine shaft?" It's ridiculously hard to concentrate.

Caine looks thoughtful. "Maybe," he says slowly, "if someone went back down there, and.."

Whatever thoughts I had, however brief, of him understanding what I went through, vanish. I can't go down there.

I absolutely cannot ever go that way again.

"No." I whisper. "No, no, no, no, no..."

"Yes," Caine says decisively. "You will. Then I can-"

"No," I say, louder, more decisive this time. "I won't."

He smirks. "It's not up to you anymore. You _will _follow my orders. I can rip you limb from limb if I want to." He laughs wryly, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "You will do what I want."

_I'm nevernevernever going back there again_

I take a breath to speak, and that's when Caine's lips crash against mine, silencing me. My world spins in dizzy circles, and I can barely draw in breath. My arms and legs become useless; I practically melt into him. His hand grips the back of my head, and then all of a sudden, it stops.

I stumble back, feeling woozy. "Um," I say, demonstrating my dazzling conversational skills.

Caine glares at me for a second, then flings me to the floor. I cry out in pain. He stands over me. "You will not tell _anyone _about that," he threatens. "Not Diana, not Drake, not anyone. But especially Diana. If you do, I will personally hold you down while Drake blows your brains out."

Yeah, because I totally started it. Still, something tells me it would be better for me if I shut up. I notice bruises forming, and feel blood trickling down my back.

Thankfully, Caine leaves. As soon as he's gone, I stumble toward the lone table in the room and pull out a piece of paper. I quickly scribble a note to Sam.

_Sam-_

_ Caine's planning to take over the power plant. I don't know when it's going to happen or why they want to go there. That's all I know for now._

_ Stay safe._

_R_

I look at it. I can't quite shake the feeling that I'm missing some important details, but I ignore it. I've got more important things to do than stress about dates.

I quickly fold the paper into an airplane and move myself toward the blown-out wall. I throw it in the air, wincing as a stabbing pain shoots through my arm, and use the last of my energy to push it through the air toward Perdido Beach.

Then I fall back onto the lone mattress and sink into a deep sleep filled with green monsters and raging fires.

**

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**A/N: Review review review please! It'll make my day! And they've already called a snow day, AND I have waffles and muffins (it's a good combo) andd it's 1/11/11 today, so GET EXCITED! **

**~Ayatia**


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